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“In towns and cities... there is no more important institution than the local paper.”
Warren Buffett
By Brian Hews and Randy Economy
An aggressive grassroots campaign has begun by supporters of jailed Los Angeles County Assessor John R. Noguez who has been in solitary confinement in a Downtown jail cell since his arrest on dozens of felony charges more than two weeks ago.
Today, several friends and supporters of Noguez received an email that details the plight the Assessor is having in raising the $1.16 million bail amount.
Los Cerritos Community Newspaper was sent a copy of the email on Friday afternoon.
“Dear Friends and Family of John: We know John as a tireless community servant, always welcoming everyone with a smile and treating everyone like family. John follows the golden rule of treat others as you wish to be treated and he lives it every day. As you may know, our friend John Noguez is in trouble and needs our support more than ever. You can help John by making a donation today to help him make bail,” the email states.
“Although we are all entitled to our opinions on the matter, John deserves an opportunity to tell his side of the story; yet John has been in solitary confinement for two weeks, isolated, and unable to have visitors. One of our most valued judicial principles is the assumption of one’s innocence until proven guilty. We all deserve this fundamental right, and our friend
John is no different,” the email states.
“We want to let you know that we are trying to help John raise money for his outrageous and unfair bail amount. We are asking you to help John in a time of need. John has offered complete cooperation with the District Attorney since he first became aware of the inquiry in February by keeping in communication. He even surrendered his passport in May after he came back from mourning his father’s death in Mexico to show good faith,” the email continues.
“Yet, the District Attorney has put a special restriction (1275), prohibiting John from using any of his personal money to make bail. For those of you who are not familiar with Criminal Law, only drug lords and murders get this type of bail amount. Thanks to the support and generosity of many friends we are very close to raising the funds needed to pay the bail in addition to securing other forms of collateral required for John’s bail. We are close but we still need your help,” the email continues.
“Our deadline to raise this money is on November 7, which is John’s next hearing date to attempt bail. We are confident that once our friend John posts bail, he will be able to defend himself properly, and clear up any charges that the D.A. has accused him of. We hope that you find it in your heart to help with whatever amount you can contribute to our cause. You can use your credit or debit card on the link below for the John Noguez for Assessor 2010 Attorney’s Fees Fund ID#1324295.”
“If you would like to make a contribution by check please send an email to [email protected] and we will send you a form to fill out with all of the information. We truly appreciate your help. Please pray for John and his family during this very difficult time. Thank you, Friends of John Noguez,” it states.
“P.S. we would appreciate it if you can forward this message to anyone you know that would like to help,” the email concludes.
LCCN will have additional updates as they develop…..